The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The story is set five years after the events of The Last of Us (2013), with players controlling a 19-year-old Ellie, who comes into conflict with a mysterious cult in a post-apocalyptic United States. The game was announced at a PlayStation Experience event in December 2016, and will be released on February 21, 2020. Development Development of The Last of Us Part II began in 2014, soon after the release of The Last of Us Remastered. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson reprise their roles as Joel and Ellie, respectively. The story is written by Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross. Druckmann is also the Creative Director reprising this position from The Last of Us. Gustavo Santaolalla returns to compose and perform the score. Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau are game directors; Bruce Straley, game director on The Last of Us, left Naughty Dog in 2017. The game was originally planned to feature multiplayer, but was then cancelled because resources were shifted to improving the scale of the game. The Last of Us Part II was announced at the PlayStation Experience event on December 3, 2016. The first trailer revealed the return of Ellie and Joel, whose story takes place five years after the first game. Players control Ellie. Whereas the first game centers on love, Druckmann stated Part II centers on hate. Motion capture began in 2017. The second trailer was released on October 30, 2017, as part of Paris Games Week. It revealed four new characters: Yara (played by Victoria Grace), Lev (Ian Alexander), Emily (Emily Swallow), and an unnamed character played by Laura Bailey. Druckmann stated that the characters "are integral to and Joel's next journey". The game was featured at Sony's Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3) event on June 11, 2018. Another trailer was featured in the State of Play, a presentation concerning upcoming PlayStation games, on September 24, 2019. It revealed the return of Joel, the main character from the first game who had yet to be seen, as well as the release date of February 21, 2020. Release The game will come in four editions: Standard Edition, Special Edition, Collector's Edition, and Ellie Edition. Different editions come with various collector items as well as items and unlocked abilities in the game, as well as a bonus for preordering the game. Reception In January 2017, PlayStation Blog awarded The Last of Us Part II Most Anticipated Game of the Year. Later that year, it won Most Wanted Game at the 2017 Golden Joystick Awards, and Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards. On July 2, 2018 it received Special Commendation for Graphics and Sound at the Game Critics Awards. While the second trailer was mostly well received, it drew some criticism for its violence. Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe president Jim Ryan defended the trailer, saying the game is "made by adults to be played by adults". Druckmann explained: "We’re making a game about the cycle of violence and we’re making a statement about violent actions and the impact they have ... idea was for the player to feel repulsed by some of the violence they are committing themselves." The cutscene featured in the 2018 E3 presentation in which Ellie kisses another woman, Dina (Shannon Woodward), was praised for making a kiss – which is frequently considered to be difficult to animate – passionate and believable. Critics also praised the improved graphics, enemy AI, and combat. The game was also nominated for "Most Wanted Game" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards and won the award for "Most Anticipated Game" at the Gamers' Choice Awards. References }} External links * * Category:Video games Category:Action-adventure games Category:Horror video games Category:The Last of Us Category:LGBT-related video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Naughty Dog games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:PlayStation 4-only games Category:Stealth video games Category:Survival video games Category:Upcoming video games scheduled for 2020 Category:Video game sequels Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Video games featuring female protagonists Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games Category:Media about cults